“The heartbeat of Indian cricket,” Jonathan Trott called it, and marvelling at
the freshly minted Wankhede Stadium, one of the few grounds in India to
offer the spectator a comfortable watching experience, it was hard to
disagree.

With its nods to the greats of the past and present — the Vinoo Mankad gates,
the Vijay Merchant pavilion, and stands named after Sunil Gavaskar and
Sachin Tendulkar — there is a sense of Indian cricket’s rich heritage
wherever you look.

The queues outside the ground were snaking down to Marine Drive yesterday,
lifting hopes of a decent turnout, after desultory crowds during recent